


Young stags, lions and falcons

by Rogercat



Series: Elia Martell in Rohan [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bodyguard, Brienne's siblings are alive, Children of Characters, Cousins, Female Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Joffrey was stillborn, Original Character(s), Other, Part of a larger series, Renly died in the Greyjoy Rebellion, Robert and Cersei have children together, Royalty, The Red Keep (ASoIaF), Westeros, not House Stark friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: With the children of House Baratheon and Lannister being cousins in some form or another, it is only natural for them to grow up together. And forming relationships that is pretty different from their parentsSide story to my ASOIAF/LOTR crossover "Elia Martell in Rohan" that focus on the OC children in Westeros
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Original Female Character(s), Jon Arryn/Lysa Tully Arryn, Lysa Tully Arryn & Edmure Tully, Mya Stone & Gendry Waters, Myrcella Baratheon & Tommen Baratheon, Robert Baratheon/Cersei Lannister, Sandor Clegane & Original Female Character(s), Selyse Baratheon/Stannis Baratheon, Shireen Baratheon & Stannis Baratheon, Tyrion Lannister/Tysha
Series: Elia Martell in Rohan [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1298606
Comments: 104
Kudos: 44





	1. Sworn sword

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lostchildofthenewworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostchildofthenewworld/gifts), [Little_Lady_Otaku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Lady_Otaku/gifts), [wingsofthenight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsofthenight/gifts), [Cure_Emotion22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cure_Emotion22/gifts).



Later half of year 288 A.C, some months after the birth of Princess Elinor Baratheon: 

As the sole Baratheon prince born to King Robert and queen Cersei so far, it was only natural that Lyonel would need protection. However, the Kingsguard focused on the royal family as a whole, and not as separate bodyguards. 

“No, no, no! Not funny!” was the most common response from Lyonel as yet another Lannister guard would be chased out with whatever soft toy that could be tossed at a head. 

It did not help that any Lannister guard had failed to manage forming a bond with the prince and his twin sister so far. Some people muttered about the Baratheon stubbornness, but their favorite septa Holly, who actually was Holly Sand, the second daughter of the late Lewyn Martell and his paramour Rhoyne, thought that it was more of a reaction that the Lannister guards did not seem to realize that the boy actually was a child as much as a royal prince. 

“Lyonel, Argella,” she spoke as the twins stopped to walk in the castle garden in her voice, “can you promise to not toss anything on the guard that comes today to see if he matches to be a sworn sword to Lyonel? Your mother will be angry if it happens again.” 

It was near impossible to see any traits of House Lannister in the royal twins, for the blood of Robert Baratheon was very strong. 

“Will try, Holly.” 

That was the best response for now, and she did not blame the children. For some reason, Lord Tywin and his daughter sent men that were good fighters but had zero idea of how to act around such young children. 

“Good, now let us go back to your playchamber for some story-telling. And Elinor should be awake by now.”

Both the twins liked her stories and she was one of the few servants that had remained with them since infancy, so perhaps it was not so strange that they were closer to Holly than Cersei. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Back in the royal nursery, the youngest member of the Baratheon dynasty had indeed woken up from a nap. 

“Elinor! Elinor!”

The younger Baratheon princess reacted at familiar voices of her older twin siblings by reaching up with her hands. Despite that they were four years older than their sister, Argella loved Elinor and would often try carrying the baby around against her shoulder like how she had seen the nursemaids do, even Lyonel had never hesitated to hold his little sister if it could make her stop crying for a while.

Yet when the man arrived to see how Lyonel would react to him, Holly was shocked to see who it was: 

Sandor Clegane, the younger brother of the inhuman monster who Tywin had sent to murder her cousin Elia Martell and her children, Rhaenys and Aegon, five years earlier. Granted, Gregor Clegane had died a most suitable death for a monster like him that involved fire and his corpse been found as a “wedding gift” in the throne room in front of the Iron Throne on the very wedding day of Robert and Cersei together with the dismembered body of Amory Lorch, but the name Clegane still was not a named spoken with respect by many. 

“Mister, doesn't that burn injury  **_hurt_ ** ?” Argella asked all suddenly to the surprise of the servant women in the room, mistaking the old burn scars as being rather new.

“Nah, it is an old one, princess. And don't call me ser, I am no knight,” Sandor grumbled, but he still knelt to come closer to the eye level of the twins so they could study him better. Besides, that she had addressed him without “ser” seemed to be the right way of not addressing him wrong. 

“Bah!” 

It seemed like Elinor was not scared of Sandor at least, something that Lyonel and Argella took notice of. 

“As a sworn sword, will you teach me how to fight?” Lyonel asked. As answer, Sandor unbuckled his own sword scabbard and let the Prince try holding the grib. Naturally, the four-year-old found the weight very heavy and he had to do his best to not drop it on his toes. 

“You are determined already at this age. I like that,” Sandor said with a crooked smile as Lyonel finally gave up, though not without doing his best to not drop the sword.

“Septa, can we tell mother that Sandor will be part of our household now?” 

“It is most likely her who chose him in the first place, Argella,” Holly reminded gently. Well, if Sandor was nothing like his dead brother, then she could work with him. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Over the following weeks, Sandor proved to be a good choice as a sworn sword. Sure, he had gruff manners and tended to not always watch his words around the royal children, but they seemed to bring out his softer side whatever there was not on-lookers around. He also found out very quickly that septa Holly was more of a mother for them than Cersei. 

“Leave Holly alone, damned bastard!” Lyonel openly cursed one day, when he spotted the septa actually being backed into a corner of a corridor by a Lannister guard, and Sandor got to witness that despite his young age, the son of King Robert was not afraid of defending those he cared for, as Lyonel managed to use his wooden toy sword to ensure that the guard would walk pretty funny over the following day. To add insult to injury, Holly had not been as passive as the guard had thought because she had already kneeled him on the same spot as Lyonel hot, and a well-aimed kick on his arse from Sandor sent the guard tumbling down the stairs. 

“You are not a normal septa, for they would not be that familiar with how men are shaped, especially if being sent to a motherhouse at a young age,” Sandor commented in awe over the impressive resistance she had made even before he and Lyonel arrived to help. 

“My late father told me how to defend myself from men who can not keep their hands off me. Now, let us go, Argella is waiting for Lyonel in the nursery as I promised to teach them some basic reading today after that she had her measurements for a new dress taken by the seamstresses in the chamber of the queen.” 

That was how Holly and Sandor mostly worked together, respectfully but on a little distance because they had different duties in the household of the royal children. 


	2. The children at Storm's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life changes when Stannis is the Lord, not Renly

Late year 289 A.C, Storm's End:

Shireen Baratheon was born only weeks after that Stannis had sent the letter to Selyse about Renly having been killed in the Greyjoy Rebellion, and that they were now the Lord and Lady of his ancestral home since Robert was the King. While somewhat disappointed in that her first child was a daughter because sons held the power as favored heirs, Selyse still felt happy over that it had not been a stillbirth. Perhaps Stannis would be, in his own withdrawn manner, be overjoyed with Shireen being born on the same name day as his late grandmother Rhaelle. Selyse could still recall how Stannis had acted so strange on the same day when she had her miscarriage a few months after their wedding and in the middle of his akward attempts to comfort her over the child she had lost, she had learned that it was the Dowager Lady's date of death. 

Well, hopefully Shireen would be given a better life than her great-grandmother, since Selyse felt horrified at the thought of her daughter perhaps ending up in a situation where she would think that ending her own life was the only way.

“At least a daughter is easier to raise than a son. I can teach her a few things myself when she is old enough.”

If there was anything Selyse and Stannis had in common despite their loveless marriage, it was a shared dislike of Dragonstone and the Tyrells. Even at her first arrival to Dragonstone, Selyse had screamed internally over at that the old Targaryen seat would be a horrible place to have children, sometimes in the middle of night, during storms, she could have sworn that she heard the echoes of the previous Queen Rhaella crying and screaming as the last child of Aerys II had entered the world. No, Selyse had been grateful to leave Dragonstone behind to live at Storm's End instead. 

And the Tyrells...well, they had been  **_stewards_ ** to the Gardener Kings, how could Aegon I make a family of servants into a noble House, and the Wardens of the South despite that House Florent was nobles from the start! And the daughter of Mace Tyrell marrying the only Baratheon prince to become the future queen, what was Robert thinking?!

“You shall not be wed to one of the Tyrells, Shireen, you are too good for them and Stannis would never accept such a match either. Not to any of the sons of the man who led Rhaelle to her death and not to any of their male cousins either, no. Your father would hate the idea of Tyrell blood in his own descendants.” 

That was something Selyse could promise her baby daughter already now, and knowing that her husband would agree. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

After his coronation, Robert had sent for his bastard daughter Mya Stone to move to Storm's End from the Vale and be raised there so Renly would have some form of relative still around while he was in King's Landing and Stannis at Dragonstone. But despite being only two years apart in age, the young uncle and niece had never bonded. Renly had ignored Mya for most part, paying her no attention than what he would do to other female servants in the castle. After all, she was born to a servant woman in the Vale, not a noble mother like her half-brother Edric Storm. 

“I am actually glad that Lord Stannis returned. He is stern, but a good master in his own manner. Good that he is married too, so we have a Lady again.”

Compared to her late predecessors, Lady Cassandra and Rhaelle, Lady Selyse was not the most warm or welcoming woman, all the servants were in agreement on that, but she took her duties as a Lady of a Great House seriously. As long as everyone did their proper work and did not avoid what they were told to do, she would not complain. 

“And she is a far cry from the Stark girl King Robert would have married otherwise…” 

“Hush! We do not talk about that girl here! Mya might hear!” 

But Mya already knew who they had been about to mention: Lyanna Stark, the Northern maid who had run away from the marriage with her father, with the last Targaryen Prince. 

  
  


A few days after that Shireen had been born, a surprised Mya found herself summoned by the new Lady Baratheon up to her chamber. 

“Really, I can not see what that wolf girl made such a fuss about, when I overheard her complain to the current Lord Stark about your birth. She should have known that all men have their needs, and that bastards are not formed out of thin air. Would she have preferred the old Lord Arryn as a husband, I wonder, with the high risk of widowhood at a young age and no so great chances of children?”

That was the start of how Selyse told Mya of her own impression of Lyanna Stark at the infamous Tourney at Harrenhal. The Florent family had been there as guests, and compared to the eleven years older Princess Elia Martell, already a mother to a Targaryen princess and pregnant with her son at that time, the Stark girl had been a mere child. 

“I can tell you this, Mya, Lyanna Stark would have been a horrible wife and Lady if she had married your now royal father, with the way she acted at the tourney. I can understand wanting a husband to be faithful, but she did not exactly prove herself a good example of a well-bred noble daughter either. That marriage would have been even more of a disaster than Cersei Lannister, for while the Queen does not have more than one son so far, she has given the royal dynasty far more living children than what the last Targaryens had.” 

Once they had finished the talk about Lyanna Stark, Mya chose to mention something she actually surprised herself by: 

“I would like to be a gamekeeper when I am of age, my Lady. My strengths lay not in traditional feminine work, I am afraid, for I have large hands that do not suit much outside baking bread or doing laundry and I like working with animals.” 

Selyse was shocked for a few moments over what the natural daughter of her brother-in-law said, then thought it over. Honestly, Mya and two-year-old Eric Storm would need some form of occupation as adults to support themselves if they were not given titles by Robert.

“Might as well train you in that and Edric to become a falconer, if you end up serving Shireen or a brother to her in time. Unless my lord husband says differently, it will be so.”

Mya had to keep herself from jumping in joy as she left the chamber. She would be allowed to be outdoors as she wished!

~X~X~X~X~X~X

But life was not always peaceful even here at the ancestral castle of the Baratheons. As the year 290 A.C entered its sixth month, Mya heard two alarming rumours: 

That not only had King Robert sired the newly born Princess Myrcella on his wife while they had held that tourney in Lannisport to celebrate the extinction of the Ironborn culture, another “failed” attempt to have a second son as a spare to Prince Lyonel, but that two-year-old Princess Elinor was to be betrothed to Quentyn Martell of all people! 

“A Baratheon princess marrying the second son of the current Prince of Dorne?” Stannis muttered as he read a letter about the betrothal from the capital, “Tywin Lannister must have told Robert and Cersei to do that, in the hope of Arianne Martell dying young so Quentyn is the heir to Dorne, as the Martells still do not believe that Princess Elia and her children have died during those seven years since they vanished from Maegor's Holdfast!” 

Selyse did not even look up from her embroidery as he tossed the letter into the fireplace. 

“At least it is Doran Martell's oldest son and not his youngest who was born last year. Mahaad Martell may be closer in age to Elinor, but marrying a third son, the youngest of four siblings, would not have left her with much power in Sunspear for all of that she is the second royal princess.” 

As Shireen currently was playing with Edric and Mya in her nursery on the opposite end of the castle, there was no one around that could hear the Lord and Lady Baratheon badmouth Robert's habit of making betrothals for his children that might prove that the Baratheon dynasty would not choose incestus marriages for the royal children like the Targaryens but that also could make problems in the future if Lyonel remained the only Prince and died before he could have his own sons as heirs. 

“I would take the Iron Throne as the next male Baratheon, yes, but I can see the Tyrells still try to grab power at the royal court by marrying one of their cousins to Myrcella, any younger sister following her or Shireen. And I will  **_NEVER_ ** accept a male Tyrell as a goodson or the daughter of Mace Tyrell as a bride to any son of mine!” 

Stannis knew that breaking the betrothal between Margaery Tyrell and his nephew Lyonel would be hard without a good reason, so for now, he would do his best to find good marriage matches for Myrcella and any younger children between Robert and Cersei. Thanks to Mace dying in the Greyjoy Rebellion, Margaery had no younger siblings and she also was the sole Tyrell daughter in the main line. 

“My Lord and Lady, a letter from Casterly Rock,” Maester Cressen spoke in a mild voice as he entered the chamber. 

“What do the Lannisters want now? Bragging that Tywin's dwarf son has hit lucky by siring a son on that low-born bride of his?” Selyse wondered as Stannis opened the letter. 

“Tysha Lannister has given birth to a boy named Luke Lannister,” he responded, confirming what his wife had just guessed. Great, hopefully the new decade meant that it would finally stop with only daughters being born in the Great Houses of Westeros. Many of them were rather desperate for male heirs now, since both Robert's Rebellion and the Greyjoy Rebellion had happened only six years apart and that was not a very long time to replace the lords and their heirs that had died in both conflicts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selyse and Stannis may not have the best of marriages because of their personalities, but I think that with becoming Lord of Storm's End thanks to Renly dying, Stannis is somewhat happier with his life than in canon. I headcanon that both of them loathed to live on Dragonstone, even if that was the seat normally held by the heir to the King of Westeros
> 
> The gamekeeper was hired to keep an eye on the populations of the animals on the Lord’s lands and ensure that the wildlife was protected and kept safe from poachers (so the lord and his huntsman could kill them themselves). They would likely have a cabin in the parkland and have certain privileges such as being able to take game for themselves. Since Mya works as a mountain guide with her mules to the Eyrie in canon, I tried to find something that would still allow her to work outdoors even if she was brought to Storm's End
> 
> Yup, Tywin hopes that by arranging marriages to important families all over Westeros, his royal grandchildren will spread their Lannister blood from Cersei to enter the superiority he firmly believes that House Lannister holds


	3. How to be brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celia Arryn is no mouse, even with her poor eyesight

Year 290 A.C: 

It was many things that Celia Arryn disliked, even at the tender age of four years. Like her so-called “suitor” Harrold Hardyng, five years her senior, who she was meant to be marrying in twelve years. They had only met once last year, when King Robert had held a grand feast to celebrate the victory over the Ironborn in the Red Keep and Harrold had arrived with several other noble boys from the Vale to be present. 

“I do not like him! Harry is  **_MEAN_ ** to me and mocks my poor eyesight!” she could often cry to her mother Lysa, who always cuddled her in comfort when this happened. 

“Yes, he is such a awful boy! What was your ignorant father  _ thinking _ when he betrothed you to him without even giving Harrold strict instructions about how to treat a future wife well? How can you be happy married with a boy who is mean to you already now?” 

Ever since realizing that Celia was near-sighted, Lysa was horrified for how this would affect her poor daughter as she grew up. Sociality was not kind to handicapped people, and not even being of high status would protect those poor souls from being gossiped about. And she could recall how Celia had cried and cried the whole time as they once visited the Eyrie, fearing the high height because she felt safer with both feet on the ground. That fear of heights had not been helped with how close her daughter once had come to fall to her death, all because of an inattentive maid who did not keep her away from the narrow bridge between two parts of the castle. 

“Thanks to her fear of heights, cruel people are already calling her the “ _ Wing-clipped Arryn heiress _ ” because no one have ever heard about an Arryn that is terrified of heights…” 

Of course, people did not call Celia so within the earshout of her father, who was the Hand of the King, but Lysa had not been spared from overhearing such cruel words. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

The first time Celia met her maternal uncle Edmure and aunt Catelyn, was when the three children of the late Hoster Tully gathered together at Riverrun for Edmure to get married. The lady Stark had not brought her three children along, because Robb and Sansa had both gotten stuck by redspots a few weeks before her journey, but Lysa felt a string of jealousy at realizing that her sister was undoubtedly pregnant again, based on the shape of her belly. Just how many children would Eddard Stark keep giving her sister, just because they both were young and healthy while she was stuck with a horrible old man whose seed was weak?

“The Hightowers! What a match uncle Brynden managed to make for you, little brother!” Catelyn said in joy as she hugged her brother. Sure, it was regrettable that their father had died half a year ago, mere days before her Arya was born, but she did not doubt that he would have been proud over the match for his son and heir. Lynesse Hightower was a fair maid, the same age as her groom, so they would not need to wait several years for her to become ready for motherhood. 

“I still feel like it is too early with a wedding…I was knighted during the Greyjoy Rebellion, but it is only a few months since Father died...” Edmure started, but his oldest sister quit him short: 

“You are the sole boy among us! You need to marry and have your own heirs as soon as you can!”

Lysa felt sorry for Edmure. Catelyn meant well, but in some ways she did prove herself to be the true daughter of their father when it came to the importance of marriage. Her sister had said the same in the written letters between them when Lysa complained about Jon Arryn betrothing Celia at such a tender age and repeated that Lysa should be happy to see her oldest daughter's future secured as long as young Harrold did not die before the wedding. 

  
  


Because of her nearsightedness, Celia barely saw anything of the wedding ceremony, not helped by the fact that she and one-year-old Amanda had to stay at the back of the sept so they would not disrupt the ceremony by crying or something else. 

“Boring!” she muttered to septa Rhoyne, who was in care of them as usual when their nursemaids were not around. 

“I believe that Ela agrees on that, Celia. Look, does she not look unhappy too?” the older woman smiled, holding up a hand-sewn Dornish-looking doll that Celia loved. The little Arryn heiress had no idea that Rhoyne had sewn the doll to look Dornish on purpose, and Lysa had never complained, as she had made a secret alliance with House Martell for a very good, personal reason. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Celia did not like her father, Lord Jon Arryn, either. He was not living with his family a lot in the mansion outside the capital where Lysa stayed with her daughters. For her, he was just a boring old man who kept talking about needing a son from Mama, and making Mama upset. 

But they had to meet at formal events sometimes, such as the celebration of the birth of Princess Myrcella Baratheon. 

“No! Give back Ela! Give her back!” 

Some of the squires to the King and various nobles at court, among them Loras Tyrell since his sister was the betrothed to Prince Lyonel, had found the young Arryn heiress alone in a side corridor, and stole her beloved doll. 

“What a ugly doll! Like those damn Dornishmen! They belong in the brown earth!” 

“ **_NO!_ ** ” Celia screamed in horror as Loras threw her doll into the garden somewhere where she could not see it land. At her protests, they only laughed because she could not do anything to harm them, being several years younger than all of the young boys. 

“You...you…” Celia began to cry in anger over what they had done, “ **_YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN HORRID HARRY! ALL MEN ARE HORRIBLE!! GO AND DIE, ALL OF YOU!!_ ** ” 

And then she dashed out in the darkening garden, determined to find Ela despite how difficult that would be. 

“Stupid girl! I hope that Margaery will not have you as a lady-in-waiting!” Loras called after her, then leading the group of squires back to the feast. 

  
  


No matter how much she searched in the darkening garden, getting her dress dirty as she pushed apart the flowerbeds and bushes to kneel down, Celia could not find Ela. Worse, it was now so dark that she could not see much either.

“Mama…? Mama! Rhoyne!” 

Again she began to cry, feeling alone without someone she knew to be close. 

“Miss Arryn?” 

That voice belonged to Princess Argella, who came closer with a lamp in one hand. Not far behind, was her twin brother and his sworn sword. 

“Miss Arryn, what happened to make your dress look like you have been digging in the flowerbeds?” 

The question made Celia start crying once more. 

“Those horrid squires threw away Ela!” 

“Ela?” 

Of course, they did not know that she meant her doll. 

“My doll!” 

Sandor, who was the tallest of them all by being an adult, held up the lamp for better light as Argella helped Celia back on her feet. And thanks to being an adult with fully functional eyes, he saw what the Arryn girl had missed in the darkness; that Ela the doll had landed in a fruit tree right above her head. Ceila had been too little to see the orange dress clearly and she brightened up in joy as Sandor handed the doll back to her. 

“You are very brave to try searching in the dark for Ela, then. Lyonel and I were not that brave at the same age.” 

Of course, if she had been present Holly would notice the white lie that Argella just said, but that Celia could not know.

“Miss Arryn, did you see who those “horrid squires” was? Did they wear any coat of arms, perhaps?” Lyonel asked, knowing that they better get Celia back indoors before chaos broke out about her missing. 

“The leader had a golden rose on a green field!” 

As Argella lifted up Celia to carry her back indoors with the promise of sharing sweets with her in the royal nursery, Lyonel gave Sandor a gold dragon in an unspoken request to give Loras Tyrell a clout on the ear for not respecting that Celia was the same social status as himself, belonging to a Lord Paramount family. Even if Sandor was not knighted, he was still in the service of the royal family and even if Loras was of a better family, as a future knight he better recall that women and girls were to be treated with respect. 

  
  


From that evening, the Arryn heiress and her sister Amanda could often be found around the royal children as part of their circle of friends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Given that the Eyrie is several thousand feet above the ground below, I think it is pretty understandable that Celia would have a fear of heights after nearly falling to her death 
> 
> Redspots is a common childhood disease in Westeros, similar to chickenpox. The illness is harmless to anyone under the age of ten and once one has it, they will be immune to it for the rest of their life. However, adults who do not contract it in childhood remain at risk for infection and may die from it


	4. Young lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime, Tyrion, their wives and aunt Genna have something to plan

Late year of 291 A.C, Casterly Rock: 

It was not that Jaime openly wished that his daughters, Joanna and Leia, would have been sons instead. But after that he managed to survive the poisonous bite from that unknown snake, it was impossible to pretend that things would be well. 

He was unable to walk properly as in the past, still remaining in bed as the carpenters of Lannisport worked together to craft a wooden wheel-chair for him, and poor Rayelle had lost the last chance of possibly giving him a son when she suffered that misscarriage. She was undoubtedly still fertile as the monthly presence of her moonblood revealed, but Jaime could forget about even try to bed her in the manner needed to sire children, even with her being the one on top instead of him, for the snake venom had pretty much killed any chance of Jaime being able to do intercourse again. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

One day, his aunt Genna summoned Tyrion and Tysha from their manor in Lannisport to have an important talk between the five of them, while the girls played with little Luke in the nursery.

“I will not try to sugarcoat the truth, nephews;  **_House Lannister is facing a succession crísis in the future with Jaime only having daughters before that horrible snake ruined whatever hopes we had for you and Rayelle finally having a sweet little boy._ ** By the laws and customs, Tyrion is the next male in line for Casterly Rock as the second son, and you already have little Luke as a possible heir for yourself,” the sole sister of Tywin commented as soon as they all had gathered in Jaime's bedchamber, “and we do best in trying to make a plan to avoid that crisis before it can become a danger for House Lannister.” 

Tyrion, who knew the history of how their grandfather Gerold Lannister had succeeded his little niece Cercelle in 213 A.C when she had died at the tender age of four years and that unkind rumors said that he was willing to kill her to become Lord of Casterly Rock, could see what Genna could possibly hint at. 

“It is true that I feel a desire for Casterly Rock, but at the same time I am not willing to commit murder to become Lord Lannister. If it comes to that Jaime dies before the girls so they become father's heiresses as the daughters of his oldest son, then I am willing to serve as regent for Joanna and for Leia as well, should it happen.” 

Jaime did not say anything, but his wandering eyes across the room told his aunt and brother that he too realized the problem that would arise from that he did not have a son. Rayelle, still seated at the bed since she had helped Jaime look respectable dressed in a fine tunic and such earlier, watched how nervous Tysha looked. The two sisters-in-law got along fine, but neither one felt ready for what the future would hold for their children, especially as Tywin was the one having the final word of how the succession would go. 

“There is one way to make this go smoothly, and that my brother should be pleased with; Joanna marrying Luke as her husband and uniting their respective claims to Casterly Rock in one single, stronger one for their firstborn son.” 

“But they are cousins by their fathers being brothers sharing the same set of parents! And Lord Tywin himself was the first-cousin to his own Lady Joanna! That would be two cases of first cousins marrying in three generations! Sandor and Tyshara always talks about how inbreeding ruins bloodlines over the generations!” Tysha spoke up in protest. She knew that she could not reveal that she actually was a poor peasant girl with no blood ties to House Clegane at all, but in her pretending to be Tyshara's twin sister that took more after their late mother to explain their different appearances, no one would raise a eyebrow if she made use of the Clegane breeding dogs as a way to explain how she knew about how bad inbreeding would be. 

“Tysha dear, you should not worry so much. You and Rayelle both are not related to the main line of House Lannister outside marriage to each of my brother's sons, so it is not like Joanna and Luke are double-cousins whose respective parents are siblings to each other. Besides, the children born from the marriage of Joanna and Luke could be set up for marrying unrelated spouses from the Riverlands, the Vale or Stormlands to lessen the bad blood you seem to fear. It is only to smooth out the Lannister succession, not a plan to become a version of the Targaryens,” Genna responded, though she did not blame her younger niece-by-marriage for being raised in a manner that would teach that marrying first-cousins too many times would be bad. 

“And Joanna could still be Lady of Castery Rock if she marries Luke, without fearing that Luke or Tyrion could be used in a coup to steal her inheritage,” Rayelle added, though she did not seem too happy over how this seemed to be the best way to fix the situation. For her who had witnessed the situation in other noble families in Westeros now after the Rebellion that put Robert Baratheon on the Iron Throne eight years ago and the Greyjoy Rebellion two years ago that ended the Ironborn culture, it seemed far too alike to how Jon Arryn had planned the life for his oldest daughter Celia Arryn by marrying her to his great-nephew Harold Harrdyng if his third wife Lysa did not manage to give her much older husband a much-needed son. 

Jaime thought back on his early childhood, when Tywin had been away as Hand of the King and his mother Joanna being the unquestionable ruler of Casterly Rock as the wife of its Lord. How she had been the main, and **_direct_ ** authority figure in Jaime's and Cersei's life until her death. How Genna refused to let her marriage to a second son of House Frey let anyone forget her origins as a Lannister, and let everyone see that she was the dominant partner in the marriage because she was the sister to a much more powerful Lord than her own husband. 

And all the times he and Cersei had pretended to be each other for a day in their early childhood. The reality he tasted for her role, what she would face all her life, for being a noble daughter. Learning how to **_please men;_ ** Learning how to be  _ proper _ to please men. Learning how to  _ constantly look beautiful  _ to please men. Learning how to _ sing _ to please men. Learning how to _ be seen and not heard  _ to please men. Learning how to  _ sew and knit in order to make clothes for future children with said man _ ...to please him. Learning how to be a  _ good mother _ to please men. Learning how to _ exist _ to please men. 

As he no longer was a member of the Kingsguard, Jaime did not witness how Cersei faced everyday life in the unwanted marriage to Robert Baratheon, but he knew from her letters home and the visits at the royal court that she hated her husband and resented that she had to carry the children sired by him. In a way, his sister's marriage mirrored that of their aunt, but it was worse in that Robert had openly cheated on her and shamed her with the bastards resulting from those affairs, Eric Storm was the only royal bastard born from a noble mother but few doubted that some of the whores and tavern maids across Westeros should have been “blessed” with little bastards in their bellies by King Robert unless they made a abort early in the pregnancies. 

And one memory that Jaime could never forget, no matter the passing of time.

_ “You are hurting me! Please, please stop! Aerys, PLEASE STOP!! PLEASE STOP, AERYS! NOOOO!!!” _

The haunting memory of Rhaella pleading and screaming for help as he had guarded her bedchamber. How she, the most powerful woman in Westeros as the queen, had been helpless against her husband, all because no one in the Kingsguard would act out to stop his abuse of his sister-wife. 

“Only if Luke accepts Joanna being the Lady of Casterly Rock as my heiress and swears as part of the wedding vows to never try being a usurper to her,” Jaime finally spoke when the flashbacks of his first 17 years of life faded and he returned to the present. At once, Genna and Tyrion stopped whatever they had talked about, that he had not been hearing. 

“You are serious?!” Tyrion asked in shock, hoping that Jaime was not trying to make a badly-timed joke. He knew that Tywin would never accept him as a heir and successor for various reasons, so even if it  _ did sting _ at the thought of being passed over for his own son as the next possible Lord of Casterly Rock, Tyrion knew that he could turn his boy into a Lannister according to his own head and standards. Joanna was a smart girl already at her current age, same with her three years younger sister Leia, so no, Tyrion had no wish to possibly follow his own grandfather on the path to become Lord of Casterly Rock. 

“Yes. I want it to become crystal clear to all of the Westerlands that Joanna is the undoubted heiress to Casterly Rock, even with marrying Luke as her husband,” Jaime answered in a voice that sounded rather like his father. There was a fire in his eyes that had not been seen there for a while, not since he returned home after being thrown out from the Kingsguard on the ground of Robert not trusting him that Aerys would be the only Kingslaying Jaime would commit.” 

“Good. We have an agreement for now that should be solid for as long as nothing happens to one of the young ones. I brought some parchments, ink and quills for the marriage and betrothal contracts, so we can prove that they are real for my brother if he tries to protest.” 

Genna loved her brother, but she was also not blind to how Tywin failed to make a back-up plan for, say Jaime not endíng up as his preferred heir for some reason like him staying in the Kingsguard, and she did not doubt for a moment that he would try making little Luke into a next-generation version of Jaime because unless Cersei gave birth to more sons that could be other possible choices for Tywin being succeeded by a grandson, Lyonel and Tommen would remain the only royal princes sired by Robert and and Genna knew that Tywin would love to find a guaranteed way to disinherit Tyrion totally. It was a shame, really, to witness how blind Tywin was to the truth that Jaime was so different from himself in character and how Tyrion was his true son when it came to a sharp mind and politics. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Unaware of what their parents planned, Joanna and Leia focused on trying to teach Luke a little reading. Uncle Tyrion liked to read a lot of books, as proved by the library in his manor, so his son should like that too, was their logic. 

“Aemon the Dragonknight was the finest member of the Kingsguard to have ever lived, and he was loved by Queen Naerys…” 

Suddenly, a maid servant showed up in the door with three-year-old Joy Hill, the very young cousin of their fathers.

“Please stay here with miss Joanna, miss Leia and master Luke. I must find Lady Genna and your parents.” 

“Mom?” Joy called as the maid left once again, confused over the fact that her mother Briony had handed her to the maid as soon as they arrived at Casterly Rock from their little house in Lannisport that her now late father Gerion had brought for Briony to give her a roof over her head during the pregnancy since Tywin refused to let his youngest brother's mistress live in Casterly Rock. But the maid did not close the door properly, and the children could hear her speak to a fellow servant out in the corridor: 

“....Briony did right in leaving her daughter here so she can be cared for by the Lannisters...I heard on her cough and from the thinner look on her face that she has gotten consumption...will likely not last long in the world…”

The three legal Lannister heirs and their similar-aged relative had no idea about it, but Briony had left Joy in the care of House Lannister because she did not want her daughter to catch her fatal illness of the lungs, and because she hoped that they would show kindness to Joy for being Gerion's daughter despite that she was his natural-born daughter instead of the result from a legal marriage.

  
  


This was how Rayelle and Tysha found the children not long after, after hearing why Joy had been left there. Joy was a little scared of the two unknown women, hugging her ragdoll tightly for comfort without a word. 

“Out shared goodfather will only accept Joy in the household because Gerion brought her here when she was a few months old as proof that she was his natural daughter. If she returns to Lannisport now, she may try and find the house she lived in with Briony, to search for her mother when Briony will not want her daughter around in fear of passing over the illness to her.” 

Rayelle knew that with Jaime's now late uncle having recognized Joy Hill as his bastard daughter, it was expected that House Lannister would provide for her, especially as a way to honor Gerion's memory. And with Briony being an orphan herself from a young age, the Lannisters would be Joy's only known relatives from now on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Given that Jaime ended up partially paralyzed in his legs by the fictional version of a Egyptian cobra, it should be logical that the nerve damage reached his groin area too. So Tommen was the last child Jaime had
> 
> Both Cerelle Lannister and her father Tybolt died suddenly and under suspicious circumstances less than a year apart, so it was whispered that their deaths had been caused by Gerold, allowing him to inherit the rule of Casterly Rock. That is what Genna hinted at, that Tyrion could face similar rumours if Jaime dies while Joanna and Leia are still young, and if they too die not long after each other. 
> 
> As for why Tyrion says that he is not willing to commit murder to become Lord of Casterly Rock: he loves Jaime and his brother return that sibling bond, he is also having a reasonable working marriage to Tysha despite that she offically is from the family of a landed knight and thus have married far above her soical status, and Luke could very well end up having both younger brothers and sisters in the future if Tysha survives several more childbirths. So Tyrion is different from his canon self in many ways already
> 
> The inspiration for how Jaime was affected by the lives of his mother, aunt, sister and Rhaella: https://asoiafuniversity.tumblr.com/post/179259476455/do-you-think-that-jaimes-front-row-seat-to
> 
> Leia and Joy share the same birth year, 288 A.C, so they are both currently three years old in-story. In historical times, Tuberculosis was also called consumption due to the weight loss. As Martin have not mentioned what happened to Briony in canon, I did not want her to be another one of his “dead-by-childbirth” women but rather that she died from a fatal illness when Joy was young


	5. Removing dangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with Roose Bolton dead in Robert's Rebellion, his widow changes things for her son and those around them

Year 291 A.C, the Dreadfort:

Eight years. Today marked eight years since she became a widow and regent for her underage son, since Roose had died in the Rebellion that ended the Targaryen rule.

“To think that he would be killed by blood loss caused by a lucky strike with a dagger in his leg…” 

No, Lady Bethany Bolton née Ryswell, had never mourned her husband much. Her only son Domeric had been a man for three months now, coming of age at 16 as per customs everywhere in Westeros. Right now, he was at Winterfell to swear an oath of allegiance to Eddard Stark as Lord of the Dreadfort. 

  
  


Soon, she heard the sound of horses. 

“Sister, it is lovely to see you,” Bethany greeted her younger sister as Barbrey arrived into the court yard with some servants. Both of them widowed after the Rebellion, yet Barbrey had never been blessed with a child from William Dustin because their marriage was only six months old when Eddard Stark summoned the North to aid the rebels against the Targaryens. 

“The same to you, dear sister.” 

This visit was a much welcome one, for even with Roose gone and Domeric showing all signs of not being like his father in personality, the ages-old bad reputation of the Bolton family still existed. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

With some warm food in their bellies, the sisters soon began to talk over the sound of the fire in the heath where they sat for warmth. 

“I have cleaned out all of the possible children that could be bastards of Roose, from his damned use of first night despite it being outlawed for so long. The boys are all at the Wall now, using some claimed crimes of poaching as a reason to send them there. The girls are scattered across the North, as I ordered them to help build up the population among the smallfolk once they are old enough for marriage. Might as well use those of his bastards that can be useful instead of a threat towards Domeric.”

Well, all the boys except for the son of that miller's wife, who had been brazen enough to come up with the boy in her arms and request that Roose take care of the “fruit of the first night” as she said. Seeing the same eyes as her late husband on the infant, Bethany had pretended to act kindly by offering a warm drink, which in fact was dosed with a sleeping drug, to the woman and then letting the winter cold do the rest with the mother and infant far away from the Dreadfort. They had been found three days later, frozen to death in the cold. Besides, an infant was of no use for the Night's Watch. 

“It is time to try finding a bride that will not run away screaming at hearing the full name of her suitor.”

As the only surviving son, Bethany knew that Domeric was in a very vulnerable situation. If he died before marrying and siring his own heir, then the Bolton name would die out in the main line as Roose had no surviving siblings of either gender and her sons following Domerice died in the cradle. 

“Too bad that the oldest Stark daughter in the new generation is eleven years younger than Domeric. Had she been the first born from Catelyn Tully, it would have been easier to try getting a Stark bride for your boy. And the second one who arrived into the world during the Greyjoy Rebellion two years ago...well, she is thirteen years younger! If they were to become a second wife of Lord Bolton as yourself, sister, then the age difference would not have mattered as much!”

Bethany said nothing about the way her sister spat out the name of the current Lady Stark. She knew that Barbrey would never forgive the late Rickard Stark for not choosing her as the eventual bride to Brandon Stark, especially as Barbrey had given her maidenhood to the dead Stark heir in the hope of that by being deflowered by him, Rickard would have to make his oldest son restore her honor by marrying her. But the marriage match had been refused, and Barbrey had, with open disappointment visible on her face, obeyed their father by drinking the abortion tea so she would not be shamed by having a Snow growing in her belly. 

“As if Eddard Stark could refuse a marriage where his son gets a royal princess to wife. Southern just like Catelyn Stark, yes, but with a powerful lineage on both sides. And especially thanks to the age difference in this generation, if Domeric has a daughter born close to the firstborn son the princess gives Robb Stark, then it will be hard to refuse a match. Here in the North there will be protests if three generations of Lady Stark ends up being southern and of the Faith of the Seven, so offering a Bolton bride could perhaps work to bring in some northern blood again.” 

As she brought up her cup of heated wine to her lips, she recalled that Maege Mormont had been blessed with a son last year after four daughters. If little Arya Stark was anything like her foolish aunt Lyanna in personality as she grew up, then marrying her off to Lyam Mormont would be the best idea to prevent the same scandal happening in two generations following each other. Being the Lady of Bear Island by marriage was not a bad deal, not now when the threat of the Ironborn was finally gone forever. 

“I will ask Maege Mormont if she would fancy one of her two older daughters becoming the wife of Domeric, since he is nothing like his father. Daecy Mormont is older than my son by three years, and Alysane is only a handful months older. Both are an excellent age for marriage, and of a good Northern House too.” 

A bride that was the same age or a few years older than her groom was not always a disaster, at least not when it came to having children as soon as possible. The still missing Elia Martell was an excellent example of that logic, giving birth to her daughter sired by Rhaegar Targaryen before ten months had passed from the wedding day. 

“A future Lady Stark that is of both Bolton and Mormont blood? Now that is a good plan, sister. Eddard Stark will never be able to refuse such a bride for his first grandson by his Tully-looking heir.”

Even if the future did not turn out as they now planned, the idea was still tempering. And planning for the generations following themselves could be wise, when no one knew how long a lifetime they would have been given by the gods. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In canon Martin has not stated which year Domeric Bolton is born, only that it is between the years 273-281 A.C. However, Bethany is mentioned to have had other sons who died in the cradle, so if Domeric was the oldest, this means that he had younger siblings who did not survive infanthood. 
> 
> Bethany killing the infant Ramsay and his mother by the use of the winter cold may seem cruel, but seeing what a monster Ramsay are as a adult in canon, she have no idea what a hero she actually is to the North by killing him
> 
> Martin gives no exact age for the Mormont girls sans Lyanna, who is gender-swapped into a boy named Lyam here, who is born in 290 A.C. But Alysane's daughter, her oldest child, is nine years old in 300 A.C when she is mentioned to be in her mid-twenties, so I think it is not impossible for Alysane to have been around 16-17 years old when she had her daughter in canon. And given that her daughter is born around the same time as her youngest sister, I think it is safe to say that considering the ages of Maege's other children, Dacey and Alysane is between 15 and 20 years older than Lyanna Mormont


	6. Half-siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The royal twins and the brother they share a birth year with

Year 291 A.C, King's Landing: 

Despite their young age, Argella and Lyonel were not unaware that King Robert had other children, that their mother had not given birth to. It was hard to miss, when their parents had a  _ very loud  _ quarrel about him visiting pleasure houses and even bringing servant women to his bed. In fact, both Lyonel and Argella hated to witness their parents having those arguments, because Robert would often drink too much and Cersei...not enjoying his mutterings about that Lyanna Stark should never act thus against him. 

“If they are this unhappy with each other, why can the Faith not allow our parents to get divorced now when Tommen has arrived as the long-awaited spare?” Lyonel asked Holly one evening as the septa had finished reading a bedtime story for Elinor, who was now asleep in her bed inside the nursery, in an adjusting room next to where Myrcella and Tommen was sleeping. As they were seven years old and already starting their education for their adult lives, the royal twins had moved into separate chambers. 

“Tywin Lannister accepting his golden daughter be removed from the position as Queen? No way in the seven hells that is ever going to happen.”

It was Sandor who had spoken up, and now he took the chance to enlight Lyonel and Argella on how their grandfather never would accept a such scenario: 

“Your mother is the offspring of her father in a very noticeable way, she can never forget a slight, whatever real or imagined. She also has inherited his pride, and that ensures that she would never forgive the King for setting her aside for another woman. Tywin Lannister and his sole daughter share the same greed for power, so I would call death the only safe way to see them let go of that.” 

Lyonel frowned in a manner that hinted to a headache. Holly could see that the prince and princess already had started to dread the very mention of the deceased Lyanna Stark, as her name so often was the cause of starting an argument between Robert and Cersei. Not intended, of course, but seeing how the memory of the Stark she-wolf was one of the hidden shadows which haunted the royal marriage.

“I really hope that Lord and Lady Stark have learned a lesson with the cause of the Rebellion that gave Father the crown, for I am not accepting a sister-in-law who is acting like the northern she-wolf! If either Sansa or Arya ends up shaming my in-laws like their famous aunt, then I will remind them that I am both a Baratheon by birth and a Lannister on my maternal side!” 

Argella could play the image of an ideal princess well enough, it was a mask she used to deal with the royal court, but she also had her limits. It was the same with Lyonel, he had heard people joke about whatever his Tyrel betrothed would need to act like Lyanna Stark for him to love her. When Selyse had sent them a long response on whatever the wife of Stannis had been at Harrendal and actually seen the Stark girl, neither twin had not been much impressed by what Selyse recalled of the sister to Eddard Stark. 

“Come on, it is time for bed. Tomorrow we will visit Gendry and see if we can help him in some way,” Holly promised her royal changes, so they had something more fun to look forward to the next day.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

The following evening, near the River Gate: 

“Do you think that Gendry has found a trade to work in as an adult?”

It was almost a year since they had discovered their unknown brother. Gendry, who was born only a few months before themselves, was found by the royal twins by pure luck during a tournament outside the capital last year, as Robert loved to hold tourneys as a sign of how different his reign was from the Targaryens. He had been rather far from the royal box, logical since his mother feared how Queen Cersei may react if she saw Gendry and realized that King Robert had fathered a new bastard shortly before the marriage. 

“We can ask him when we arrive at the alehouse,” Holly responded as she guided the twins and Sandor along, all four of them wearing disguises to not be recognized by the gold cloaks in this part of the capital. 

  
  


It was only her work as a barmaid at a reasonably respectable alehouse that let Gendry's mother have a small room in the same building, where she and Gendry slept with her payment for work being free food and shelter over their heads alongside some coins every third month for other necessities. 

“We brought some leftovers from the royal dining table. It should have been part of charity anyway.” 

The wicker basket they had brought along was not that big in size, but filled with foods that poor people had very little chance of getting their hands on otherwise. 

“Your highnesses...I have a single request for you. Please help Gendry find a good trade which he can live on, for I...am not well. An illness that is sadly common among us in the lower classes.”

Gendry's mother was coughing in a strange way, and kept herself away from her son as if she was afraid of passing over the illness to him. Leaving the children under the eyes of Sandor for a few moments, Holly pulled the other woman into a separate room for a more discreet talk between two women. It did not take long for her to find out what illness it was: 

A influenza that she had gotten mere days before while serving the customers, and sadly tended to kill those who were not strong enough for surviving. In order words, Gendry needed to get his future secured as soon as possible before he became motherless. As Robert did not even know about Gendry existing, this affected his chances of making a good life enormously. 

“We will help Gendry, do not fear. The King may not know about him, but he shall not end up as a beggar on the streets.” 

Holly knew that the twins would not abandon their half-brother, not if they could help him, even if they did not yet know him that well after meeting only a few times before. 

  
  


The next day, a fancy carriage stopped outside a shop at Street of Steel. It was a shop owned by the finest blacksmith here in the capital. The house, made of timber and plaster, was larger than all other buildings on the Street of Steel. Its upper stories towered over the street, and the owner, Tobho Mott, lived above his shop. The double doors had an ebony and weirwood carving of a hunting scene. Two stone knights armored in red suits of armor in the shapes of a griffin and a unicorn guarded the entrance. Journeymen and apprentices worked in his shop, a cavernous stone barn behind the house, which was the reason why Lyonel and Argella came here today.

“Welcome, your highnesses. Are you perhaps searching for a good name-day gift for your royal father? Or something for your golden mother?” the master armourer Tobho Mott greeted with a bow for his young guests as they entered his shop. 

“We are not here for buying or ordering anything. Master Mott, could you perhaps...helping one of our father's  **_by-blows_ ** into getting a respectable trade for living? His mother is not long for the world and our father is not even aware that he actually has three children born seven years ago,” Lyonel asked, as both he and Argella looked around in the shop. They knew that House Baratheon was famous for birthing strong, muscular warriors, so perhaps the trade of a blacksmith could fit Gendry. 

Tobho Mott was at first not sure, being rather surprised by what they requested, but the direct offer of no less than ten gold dragon coins the twins found together in their respective coin purses, way above the normal price of an apprentice fee, seemed to make him realize that they were serious. 

“His name is Gendry, and is aware of who his sire is, but also knows that he must stay hidden due to what our mother may do otherwise. So please, not a sound about his background, claim that he is from the Stormlands if anyone asks, the Baratheons are not the only ones with black hair and blue eyes there. It is common among both smallfolk and nobles.” 

“As you command, your highnesses.”

This way, Gendry could hide in plain sight from Cersei until he was sixteen years old and ready to make the three years of traveling around Westeros, then settle in a workshop of the guild and after toughing it out for several more years, before he would make a “masterpiece” and present it for the guild as proof that he was skilled enough to have his own blacksmith shop. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: In a certain tradition, the journeyman years are a time of travel for several years after completing apprenticeship as a craftsman.In medieval times the apprentice was bound to his master for a number of years. He lived with the master as a member of the household, receiving most or all of his compensation in the form of food and lodging; in Germany an apprentice normally had to pay a fee for his apprenticeship. After the years of apprenticeship the apprentice was absolved from his obligations. The guilds, however, would not allow a young craftsman without experience to be promoted to master—they could only choose to be employed, but many chose instead to roam about.


	7. The Maid of Tarth, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne meets the royal children

291 A.C, some days after that the Martells had left the capital: 

At eleven years of age, Brienne of Tarth was well aware that she was far from the fairest maiden to be found in the Stormlands. Her two younger sisters, seven-year-old Alysanne and five-year-old Adriadne, seemed to have gotten all the beauty from their female relatives while she was...well, if she had been born a boy like Galladon it would have been easier. She would not be called handsome, for sure, but perhaps she could have been spared from people mocking her appearance and calling her the most unfeminine girl they had ever seen. 

“I am sorry that people might come to mock you once again, Brienne, and that they will undoubtedly be cruel in their words.” 

“Father, my whole family will be at the royal court for this event, I will not be alone.”

Ser Selwyn Tarth and his beloved wife was well aware of that their oldest daughter would face a difficult life in a world where female beauty was hailed, so in their own way of showing that they accepted her, Brienne had been allowed to train in the talent she had shown from a early age, a possible warrior like her brother. 

“If only we could find someone to accept you as a squire despite being a girl…you have the heart of a true knight, and if you could be spared from marriage rejections based on your looks, then I would love to see you knighted for real,” lady Tarth signed with a hint of sadness in her voice, feeling like it must be her fault for that Brienne would face a difficult life, all because she would constantly daydream about a daughter of House Tarth being a female warrior despite that it was viewed as unfeminine to carry weapons. Thankfully her two younger daughters idolized their unusual sister, even calling Brienne a female knight-in-training at times to cheer her up. 

“Big sis Bria! A lady's favor for you,” Ariadne offered Brienne her own hair ribbon to tie around her arm during the feast that they were about to take part of, and Alysanne did the same. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

When the Tarth family was presented for the royal court, there was no doubt that most of the glares went towards poor Brienne, who wore some outgrown clothes of Galladon since she looked so awkward in dresses, even in those who was a good match in fitting and flattering blue colour to match her eyes. Only her long hair kept up in a braid, seemed to hint that she was a girl and not a second son. 

“Welcome and thank you for coming here to celebrate the birth of Tommen,” Princess Argella spoke at the side of her royal father, but Brienne saw no reason to feel jealous over the clear feminine appearance of the four years younger Baratheon Princess where she stood in a pale yellow grown and jewels in her black curls that flowed down her back like a waterfall. After all, her lady mother had been pretty honest about that feminine beauty could be both a blessing and a curse, sometimes both sides happening at the same time. 

“....thank you, Princess…” 

Shy as she was, Brienne felt grateful that the royal twins and the sister closest to them in age, Princess Elinor, did not ask about why she wore the clothing of her brother instead of a dress. It was bad enough with the whispers starting from the nobles, and there was no doubt about what the Queen must think when looking down at her, Brienne had seen that sort of not so hidden glare more than enough in her life so far. 

“Right, children, go and have fun together!” King Robert laughed, letting the younger generation escape from the more formal part of this celebration. 

  
  


As usual, the noble-born children were not expected to stay at the feast for long apart from the poor ones working as pages in the royal household since serving at the tables was part of their training to learn proper manners and those old enough to be squires like Galladon would be served food at a table further down in the Great Hall. 

Instead, the three Tarth sisters shared a lighter dinner inside the nursery with the three oldest royal siblings, while Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen were cared for by their nurse-maids. The Lannister cousins, sisters Joanna and Leia born to Jaime and Luke to Tyrion, were still home at Casterly Rock with their parents coming to the capital since Cersei was the daughter of the current Lord Lannister and such young children could be difficult to travel with unless they lived nearby. At the table, the two Arryn heiresses, Celia and Amanda, could also be found since they had befriended the royal children the previous year. Their septa Rhoyne was there too, talking with septa Holly over something that the children did not hear. 

“You are eating very well, Amanda,” Brienne told the two-year-old Arryn heiress, as they all enjoyed a shared meat pie and some bread pieces to drop in the gravy.

“No messy food at the table!” Amanda smiled as she held up her gravy-soaked piece of bread, showing that even if she was still a toddler, their septa clearly knew how children in that age could have some difficulties in handling cutlery. 

“My head arches because of all the adults earlier…” 

Because of her nearsightedness, Celia hated crowds. She could tell apart figures somewhat at a distance thanks to their clothing but not exact details like faces and maybe house signs, which made her even more reluctant to participate in the month-long celebration of Tommen being born. 

“Do you want to see a secret place before heading to bed? It is down in the cellar,” Lyonel asked, getting the attention now when all had finished their food. Rhonye and Holly had gone to get some food for themselves, and the other maidservant was busy carrying the plates to the kitchens for being cleaned. 

“But it is a long way down there for Amanda and Elinor…”

“I can carry them,” Brienne offered, which the younger Arryn daughter and princess happily cheered about. The twins, their three-year-old sister and the female guests checked so no servants could see them sneak out, then hurried away from the nursery. Mainly to show the younger children that it was a real adventure, Lyonel brought along two weapons, a smaller morning star for Brienne and a mace for himself. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Bringing two lamps along so they could see better, Lyonel and Argella showed the way down to the dank cellar where the skulls of the Targaryen skulls were stored nowadays since their father took the throne. As promised, Brienne had no problems with carrying Amanda on her back, while Alysanne and Ariadne guided Celia between them. 

“ **_Ugly!_ ** ” Elinor said in revulsion when the group arrived down there and the light fell on the nearest ones among the nineteen skulls. Thankfully, none of the younger girls screamed in fright, but the skulls were not a pleasant sight nonetheless. 

“Yes. I can see why Father ordered them removed from the throne room. They are not exactly a cheerful decoration…” 

Suddenly, Argella went quiet, as if she tried to listen after something further behind where they stood. 

“Sch! Not a sound!” 

And her twin brother seemed to sense that something was odd as well.

“Listen! Did you hear that, miss Brienne?” 

Something was coming closer, and it did not sound like rats. More like a drum, actually. And the incoming shadow in the front was also a little too large for being one of the castle cats. 

“Hide inside the skull belonging to Balerion, the biggest one!” Brienne ordered her sisters, pushing Celia, Amanda and Elinor inside the skull too though one of the eye holes, Argella holding the two lamps for light while her brother and Brienne took a defense pose side by side. 

  
  


Back upstairs in the Red Keep, Rhoyne and Holly were busy searching for the missing children. The other maidservant had been scolded for not keeping an eye on them, and could expect some punishment for neglecting the task of watching over the royal children and their guests. 

“Baratheon blood, indeed!” Holly muttered for herself as she almost rushed into the small chamber near the kitchen where male servants could be gathered for a quick meal if they worked odd hours. Indeed, Sandor was there, having just finished a bowl of pottage. 

“Are the royal brats escaping your watch again, septa?” he wondered, not surprised if it indeed was true. Lyonel and Argella rarely caused trouble since they knew that they, being the oldest Baratheon children in their generation, had to act as role models for their siblings and cousins, but even royal children sometimes felt the need to do small rebellious acts against all the rules that they had to live by. 

“They are down in the cellar with those damned dragon heads again! With Elinor, the Arryn sisters and Tarth sisters!!” 

In her cover as a pious septa here at the royal court and the tutor for the so far three royal princesses, Holly rarely cursed, but given that her changes had gone there and could get themselves in danger by not having an adult along, it was hard to blame her. 

“Get the guards, the kids can have spit up by mistake in the darkness down there.”

  
  


Back down in the cellar, the group found themselves faced with some strange creatures they had never seen before. 

“What in the seven hells are those things?!” Lyonel swore, managing to kill the first orc that tried to attack him. 

“Orcs!” Celia called over the battle sounds, daring to peek out though the large dragon teeth for a moment, then recalled that she was not supposed to say anything that could hint to anything about “uncle” Tirwald as they called him. Thankfully, a terrified scream from Elinor drowned out any possible questions:

”Monsters! Monsters!” 

Brienne now proved that there was a reason why she was allowed to train like a future knight like she had been a second son born after Galladon. She may be unusually tall for her age, but all that training had given her some muscle strength that now helped her.

“ **FATHER!! FATHER!! UNCLE STANNIS!! SANDOR!! HELP!! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!!** ” 

Argella knew that her calls for help could impossibly be heard all the way up to the throne room, but it was clear that Lyonel and Brienne would find themselves defeated soon without help from the adult warriors. 

“Brienne!”

“Sister!” 

And then something happened. The very air inside the chamber seemed to thicken, and for those hiding inside the dragon skull, it seemed almost focused on the Baratheon siblings. Around the royal twins and Elinor, small whirlwinds began to take shape like it was a stormy day in the Stormlands, their homelands. Broken pieces of bricks and smaller stones were flown up in the air, striking the orcs with high speed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: I personally headcanon Brienne to have some form of severe hormonal imbalances from a very young age, not helped by that Westeros does not have modern medicines to help her with keeping that balance in check, along with some genes for a very tall and strong body from Duncan the Tall (Martin have confirmed that he is a ancestor to Brienne) so poor Brienne was struck with some odd genetic mix
> 
> In canon Brienne's sisters are named Alysanne and Arianne, but since I do not want confusion with the Martell heiress, I chose to change the other sister's name to Ariadne from the Greek myths. Their years of birth are not known, only that they both died in the cradle


	8. The Maid of Tarth, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a mystery happens in the cellar below the Red Keep

In the throne room, the feast was still going on with the royal family and their many guests at court having no idea what happened down in the cellar. Now the seven-course meal, the number being chosen to thank the Seven for that Tommen was the long-needed spare to the Baratheon dynasty instead of a fourth princess, had been finished, and it was time for some dancing. As she had given birth just a month earlier, Cersei had a legal excuse for refusing any offer to dance. Instead, she sat down beside Jaime in his wheelchair. 

“At least Tommen is **_yours,_ ** brother. I would never be able to bear the shame of only Joffrey and Myrcella being born from our love,” she whispered under the pretense of brushing his front curls away from his face, using the music as a way to not be heard by any spying ears. Her twin got a dark look in his green eyes at her words. 

“The maester back home at Casterly Rock had never seen a snake like the one who bit me. And now people are already whispering about that it was a punishment for Father in some form…” 

Suddenly, an unexpected strong wind forced itself into the throne room, making several dancers fall over and more than a few goblets tripped over from the tables to make wine strains on the stone floor. 

“ ** _FAAAAAAATHER!!!_ **”

It was not merely the echo of prince Lyonel, but also princess Argella and Elinor. And their voices screamed for help. 

“Master Selwyn! The girls, the two Arryn heiresses and the royal children are being attacked somewhere in the cellar!” 

Septa Roelle, who was in charge of the three Tarth daughters' education to become respectable ladies according to their birth, had originally been helping Holly and Rhoyne to find the missing children, only to nearly be killed herself by a stray orc that she barely managed to escape from thanks to not be old enough yet for any unplanned need to run fast to become a problem.

“ **_What?!_ **”

Selwyn and his wife were not the only ones to suddenly have fear for their children acting up, the equally terrified Lysa tried to force herself past her husband, while the Hand of the King seemed indecisive in what to do. 

“Selmy, Stannis, Oakheart! Follow me! Someone get my damn warhammer!”

For all his flaws as a husband, father and King, Robert showed that he would not let his own offspring die if he could avoid it from happening.Perhaps it was the knowledge that despite the joy of Tommen being born this year as the spare, the golden-haired prince was still a baby in the cradle while Lyonel was eight years older. A such age difference between two royal princes could play a massive role in for how long a regency would stay in power, for example, as well for how long the realm would need to wait for the young King to marry and sire his own heirs. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Down in the cellar, there was no mistake of that something was happening with the royal children: 

“Where did those winds come from?!” Alysanne wondered, as she tried to shield Celia and Amanda together with Ariadne inside the dragon skull. 

Not only Elinor was now having a violent vortex of wind circulating around her, but also her older sister and brother, which was more visible now when the twins were standing a bit apart from each other. Even Brienne, who was very tall for her age, had difficulty standing up without being pushed towards the wall, while the remaining monsters inside the cellar found themselves basically sliced into meat pieces by the winds. 

“Above their heads...a human shape?” 

Indeed, there were two black-haired children in a faint, ghostly shape. But their skin color seemed more Dornish, and their ghostly clothing and gold jewelry a unfamiliar fashion. 

“ _Begone, monsters of the Dark Lord!_ ” 

“ _Get back to the wiched master who you serve!_ ” 

An unknown language, yet one with power in it. As if those two child spirits were familiar with those monsters and knew how to kill them. 

“Brienne!”

She did not hear clearly whatever it was Alysanne and Ariadne who called her name, but the winds never hurt her. 

  
  


Not far from the cellar, the two Baratheon brothers, Sandor and the Kingsguard members dealt with the remaining orcs that blocked the path. 

“Those damn creatures again!” Sandor cursed, to which Selmy asked what he meant, and the sworn sword of prince Lyonel answered in an annoyed voice over that no one seemed to have enlightened them about the monsters, “the same sort of creatures that attacked Lannisport a few years ago and have reappeared a few times since!” 

“What?! I need to talk with my goodfather about this later!” Robert declared in a loud voice as he gave an orc a very fatal headache by his warhammer, showing that he did not like the idea of his in-laws keeping things secret from him. 

“Keeping this kind of secret can end up costing us all, that fool to lion!” Stannis muttered under his breath, wondering what Tywin hoped to activate by not telling about the attacks in the Westerlands or requesting help to try finding out where they could be found before attacking the common people. 

“Ask Lord Lannister for better details! I only took part in the defense of Lannisport because that first attack happened on the wedding of Jaime Lannister and Rayelle Lanny!” 

Right, that only showed even more that Robert really needed to talk about this mystery with the father of the Queen. 

Now, however, the strong winds stopped, leaving only a faint echo in the hidden tunnels around the adult men. 

“Lyonel! Argella! Elinor!” 

It was not a very soothing scene that they came to meet. None of the seven girls or sole prince seemed to be hurt because the winds had prevented the orcs from getting any deadly hits on them, but the royal twins and Brienne had their clothes messed up and strained by the orc blood, looking far more like they belonged to the aftermath of a battlefield than just a intended adventure before bedtime. 

“ ** _What exactly happened here?!_ **” Stannis exclaimed, sounding understandable angry yet failing to keep some worry from revealing itself as well. He was a father too, to little Shireen who was only three years old later this year, after all, so some form of paternal fear had to be there. 

“Celia! Amanda!” 

Thankfully, the arrival of a much worried Lysa Arryn gave the children a reason to not answer at once. Instead her two daughters rushed over to their mother, with Jon Arryn undoubtedly somewhere far behind in the stairs or tunnels because of his old age. 

“Brienne! Alysanne! Ariadne!”

Ser Selwyn Tarth also arrived with his wife and son, all three fearing the worst for their daughters. That was the last thing Brienne saw, before she fainted from everything that had just happened.

  
  


~X~X~X~X~X~X 

The following morning was a far cry from the happy mood found the previous day, with the eight children finding themself forbidden to leave the royal nursery or their guest chambers. Of course, the adults were not happy at all over what had happened in the cellar, and while the three septas got a nasty scolding for leaving their changes alone without surveillance, it was agreed that the main fault laid on the maid servants who had not kept a eye on the children while Rhoyne, Holly and Roelle had gone to get some food for themselves, but something really seemed to make Robert worry about how easy the orcs could have entered the Red Keep itself though the secret passages. 

“I want those passages searched through to the smallest hiding place and those who do not lead to a safe escape in case of an attack on the Red Keep itself, bricked up! I do not want any enemies to be able to hide themselves down in the darkness there!”

He had not forgotten his promise to talk with Tywin Lannister about the orc attacks in the Westerlands, but it was very hard to do so in private when Cersei took her father's attention by demanding that he should use experienced miners from the Westerlands to search through the tunnels. 

  
  


In spite of that she could tell the King about what she had seen there in the cellar with the dragon skulls, Brienne chose to keep quiet about that the royal children seemed to have summoned the powerful winds for self-defense. Her sisters and the Arryn sisters had not seen the change clearly, and she did not want to be viewed as mad on up of her appearance either. Society was cruel enough already because she was not beautiful like her sisters, something Brienne had learned the hard way many times in the past. 

  
  


Instead of listen to his wife and goodfather argument with each other, the King went to the nursery to talk with his children. The twins were in the middle of playing with marbles, and Elinor tried her best to throw her set of marbles in a straight line. 

“Oh, looks like Mother was wrong in that Father would be like Aegon the Unworthy and ignore us after this,” Argella commented at seeing Robert arrive, showing her Lannister lineage in a manner that would have made Cersei blush with anger over her words. But for Robert, the words of his oldest legitimate daughter instead reminded of how his late grandmother Rhaelle would speak and the scoldings she would give him as a child for disobeying. 

“Argella. Lyonel. Elinor...I know that you did not mean to end up with trouble with the Arryn and Tarth girls yesterday evening. I can understand wanting to show them a secret place, but it was really close to ending badly. Had it not been for miss Brienne being old enough to help defend you all, you may not have been alive to stand here before me now.”

The terror of how close he had been to losing the children, with the shock of the stillborn Joffrey in the back of his mind, had made Robert realize that he needed to sharpen up as a father. His son and daughters could have died while he foolishly feasted in the throne room far above the cellar, without knowing where they were. 

“Septa Holly said the same, yesterday, Father. She is most cross with us for that we almost brought the others into mortal danger without having Sandor or another guard with us and have said that we will not leave the nursery outside our school lessons for the rest of this month as punishment.” 

Elinor was a little too young to fully understand the dangers from yesterday, but the twins looked truly shamed over their foolish idea. After all, as the oldest princess and prince, they were expected to act as role models for the same-sex younger siblings. 

“Since your septa is so cross with you already, I do not seem to need any reason to be angry either, then.” 

In truth, Robert found himself slightly at loss on what to say. Mentally, he now cursed his younger self for not spending much time with his children before, now when he knew that they could have gotten hurt or even killed because of his neglect. He could not pass the full blame on his royal duties, not with how many people who helped him in the day-to-day work as king. 

“Lyonel. From now on, I will watch your training and possibly be your opponent at times. As my son and the second Baratheon king, you will face troubles of our dynasty removing the Targaryens and you may need to fight in order to keep the crown.” 

He then turned to Argella, seeing how she had the Baratheon colours but something of the Lannister facial features from Cersei below the baby fat. Truly, he had almost named her after Lyanna in the hope that she would take after his lost Stark fiance in personality but something in her eyes had stopped him from that idea.

“Argella. Can I trust you to not do anything that could ruin your brother's efforts as king when you are old enough to marry Robb Stark? I know that your mother hates the match because she is not...fond of House Stark, but we need to show that we are different from the Targaryens, and that means marrying spouses from other Houses.” 

Was it just his imagination, or did the twins seem to pay more attention to his words than what other children in that age would do? Then Elinor stole away the attention by jumping up in his view of sight: 

“Father! Please reward Brienne Tarth for saving us like a true knight!” 

“Ah? Yes, I saw the girl covered in blood and holding that morning-star in her hands, and I have to say that she is not exactly the ideal image of an innocent maiden…”

Then Lyonel and Argella smiled, a very similar smile that could have creeped out Cersei if she had seen them in that moment, for it was a smile that they would sometimes show her together, right before her whole day would be ruined in some way. 

“Then, how about making her my sworn sword, father?” Argella smiled innocently, “Sandor is Lyonel's sworn sword, but people up north may cossip in a nasty manner about my future **_children's paternity_ ** if I arrive to wed Robb Stark in eight years and I am always escorted around by a male knight. But two women can not have children together, and with her two younger sisters, Brienne may end up the last choice on the marriage market for various reasons. Why not give her a chance to use that impressive strength for protecting a royal princess as a true knight instead?”

And with that suggestion from the oldest princess to her father, Brienne of Tarth suddenly had her future changed from the “ugly” Tarth daughter into the path of a female knight. 


	9. Drought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The westerlands are being haunted by bad events

The westerlands, a few months into year 292 after Aegon's Conquest: 

The mood in Casterly Rock was not that great, at least for the adults. Normally any meeting between the two sons of Tywin Lannister, their wives and children was a merry affair, since Tywin was often busy in his everyday rule as Warden of the West and generally left their meetings in peace unless Jaime found himself dragged off in his wheelchair to a meeting or something else that requested the future Head of House Lannister to be present. 

“The same reports from all over the westerlands?! A drought that is already threatening our crops for this year because the smallfolk do not have enough water in their wells and the rivers are drying up too!?” 

Genna knew that this was bad news. Her generation had grown up with the tale of the two-year-long drought following the Great Spring Sickness, and if the water levels were already beginning to look as bad… 

But she could not read her brother's face, where they sat at different seats aroúnd the table, yet his green eyes spoke of displeasure,  _ great displeasure _ over this. Tywin did not care for the smallfolk, but in times like this, they had to do something before the problem became uncontrollable. And Tywin hated to not be in control over things. 

“Tell the smallfolk to dig deeper wells if the water level is sinking. Have the miners of the westerlands help to dig. The rains shall come eventually.” 

With those words, Tywin ended the meeting, clearly showing that for all that he cared, the smallfolk could deal with this on their own. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

For their part, seven-year-old Joanna and four-year-old Leia seemed to have no problem with the same sunny weather day after day. They were only happy to be playing outside together with the slightly older noble girls that were being raised in Casterly Rock as wards, their upbringing to fine ladies overwatched by Genna and Rayelle as the future Lady of Casterly Rock.

“It is pleasant to see that your girls are more eager to play with others than what Cersei was at the same age. Nearly always found around Jaime, and rarely apart from him.” 

Rayelle had heard about how close her husband and the Queen had been as children, even before the marriage, so she knew that Cersei undoubtedly had set a standard about women that Jaime may not openly admit. Yet over the last year, with him stuck in the wheelchair because of the nerve damage from that snake bite and not being able to visit the capital in the same manner as before, she felt that perhaps she finally might be able to be seen as more than just the wife in a arranged marriage and mother of his two heiresses. 

“Look! There are some clouds over there!” one of the noble girls called out to make everyone see, pointing towards several dark spots on the sky that was coming closer. 

“Oh, the Seven must have finally heard our prayers for rain! Perhaps this harvest might still be saved in some amount…” 

Then Genna realized that the clouds were actually coming with far higher speed than what the gentle winds would allow. 

“Hold on, that sound...please do not tell me that it is…!” 

In the next moment, a massive amount of locusts arrived, far too many to count. 

“ **_GET THE GIRLS BACK INDOORS!! CLOSE THE DOORS AND WINDOWS!!_ ** ” 

As the servants tried to bring the group of girls indoors, the locusts attacked the gardens of Casterly Rock, eating away everything green in sight. The rose bushes that the late Joanna Lannister had liked, the flowerbeds with rare peonies which was the legacy of Rohanne Webber in this garden, and other flowers that once had been brought there by various previous Ladies of Casterly Rock… 

“The pear orchard!!” Joanna cried in horror at seeing her favorite place become ruined by the locusts, witnessing it all from behind a closed glass window. Similar shouts of terror were heard all over the ancient castle, as the servants and other staff members did their best to try closing every door and window that they could find.

  
  


Of course, because of the heat, Tywin had been having the window in his office open to let in some winds from the sea while he worked with some of the endless paperwork every Lord had to deal with, and now he fought in vain to get rid of the locusts that had flown inside. 

“Lord Tywin!” 

His two pages did their best to help him, trying to smack the locusts with whatever they had in their hands at the moment. 

“Father!” 

Out in the corridor leading to the office, Jaime had to cover himself with his arms, hearing how the locusts echoed against the stone walls and attacking whatever they could find. 

  
  


Finally, a echoing silence was left when most of the swarm left to continue on their way, leaving devastation behind, but Rayelle realized that Casterly Rock could hardly be the only place to be ruined: 

“The whole westerlands are going to lose their harvest!” 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Over the coming days, as Tyrion rode out with knights to witness the damage left by the locusts out on the nearest farms and villages outside Lannisport, he could see that his goodsister had been horribly right: 

There was hardly any green leaf or grass left wherever he visited, and they could forget anything about getting a harvest at the moment, with the locusts eating up whatever they could find. 

“We are going to need to buy grain and other foods from the Reach and the riverlands if we are to survive this year…” 

His father was going to be furious at that mere suggestion, especially as he had no control over either the current drought or the swarm of locusts. And the smallfolk would face difficulties to pay their annual taxes over the coming months, as well. 

  
  


When Tyrion returned home to the villa in Lannisport, he noticed that Tysha looked troubled for some reason. 

“Are you worried that your charity work for the poorest smallfolk will not be able to give help as before, because of the ruined harvest?” Tyrion wondered as Luke came running to him, happy over that his father had come back home. 

“No...I am  _ expecting  _ again, and I am terrified of what will happen if there is a famine across all of the westerlands…” she admitted, laying her hands on her still flat belly as a sign that their little family would soon be having a new arrival. 

“ ** _Really?_** ” a surprised Tyrion asked, then realized that he may not sound joyful over those news, “That is...I mean, it is nice that we will give Luke a brother or sister, but I must agree that the timing would not be...well, the best.” 

Tysha could only nod in agreement. Both knew that Tywin was not going to be happy over the reminder that it would be Tyrion who had the ability to have male heirs, while Jaime nowadays was impotent because of the results from the snake bite and only had two daughters. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Khamûl's curse on the westerlands have started, and the Lannisters will soon find that things WILL get even worse


	10. Different bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shireen becomes a older sister

Storm's End, year 292 A.C: 

It was not long before lady Selyse would have her second child. Shireen seemed very happy over the pregnancy despite not really understanding how a baby could fit into that huge belly that her mother currently held. 

Except that at the very moment, the young Baratheon heiress proved that even a sweet-natured child like her had times when she would prove her paternal lineage. 

“ **_MEANIE!! MEANIE!! MEANIE!!_ ** ” she screamed on top of her little lungs, being held firmly in the arms of Matthos Seaworth as Mya and his two oldest brothers, Dale and Allard, helped the royal bastard girl to drag away Ronnel Connington by his tunic to make good use of her newly spoken promise to let him “cool down in the sea”. Shireen had already punished Ronnel in the best way of her young age and height; by kicking his shins really hard. 

“If you plan to be a knight then do not insult a lady to her face like that, you idiot! House Tarth is still a noble House, unlike House Connington that lost nine-tenths of their lands after the Rebellion and fell from being a noble House into that of landed knights!” Matthos called to Ronnel over the loud protests from him as he was dragged away and the screaming of Shireen who now demanded to get put back down on the ground. On the cobblestones of the courtyard laid a red rose, the only result of what could have been a possible engagement for Brienne Tarth. 

How it all started? By that Shireen, Mya and the three oldest Seaworth sons had all been within hearing distance as Ronnel Connington, who had came to try wooing the six years younger Brienne as the female heiress of House Tarth following her brother Galladon, openly insulted the twelve-year-old girl for her unusual appearance. As it was no secret that Brienne was sensitive about the fact that she was already almost as tall as a grown man despite her age, her wounded facial expression were a natural reaction and ran off to her room, understandable upset over that a possible suitor could be so callous about his words. 

  
  


As Stannis had yet to come home, returning to his birth castle as the new Hand of the King in King's Landing, it fell to Selyse to be the judge in this mess. After all, that was a task for her to do if her husband was not present in his home. 

“Ronnel Connington, only a fool would insult a lady as you were witnessed to do. _Remember your place as a_ **_landed knight_** that can easily lose Griffin's Roost and become a hedge knight without lands if you do something that looks anything like your damn cousin, and remove yourself from this castle at once! Return home in shame, and pray to the Mother and Maiden for wisdom in how to treat a woman of noble birth!”

Given that Selyse herself had faced some mockery over her life for the Florent trait of having too-large ears, regrettable passed down to Shireen, not being the prettiest one among her female relatives and the faintest hint of a mustache on her upper lip that she plucked daily despite it returning, she had felt a lot of unspoken sympathy for Brienne. After all, before Stannis there had been almost none suitors coming for her hand in marriage, as a Lord's niece generally would not have the same social status as the Lord's own daughters, belonging to a side-branch founded by a younger son.

“Shireen,” Selyse addressed her still somewhat sullen daughter as Ronnel Connington was dragged out by the Seaworth brothers from the Great Hall, “you are allowed to pick some nice blue irises from the garden and give those to miss Brienne, tell her that her eyes are her finest attribute and that the rest of her face do not matter.” 

Given that Shireen loved the Tarth daughter as another big sister figure apart from Mya, Selyse believed that those words from the mouth of the Baratheon heiress would be more welcomed by Brienne than if Selyse herself tried to say so in what would end up becoming awkward. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Selyse entered labour pains the following day, which had not been that much at a surprise from the beginning given how huge her belly was. Maester Cressen, however, doubted that the Lady could be blessed with twins, telling of how all three of the Baratheon brothers, even the late Renly, had been giving their mother Cassana a similar look like Selyse, looking like a ripe fruit about to burst any moment. 

“As long as the baby is alive, I do not care about the gender. I have prayed to the Mother for a healthy child since I managed to avoid a misscarriage again.” 

Stannis and Selyse had started to try for a new child again not long before Shireen turned one year old, but sadly there had been two new miscarriages for them to suffer though. Yet Selyse refused to give up hope, surely the Seven would not be so cruel as making Shireen an only child, forever standing alone without a sibling of her own in the large number of cousins she had? 

  
  


But as two days passed with no baby entering the world, it became clear that something was wrong. Selyse had tried to push as much as possible when she was open enough, the midwives beginning to fear the worst. 

“Do  **_not_ ** cut me open unless there is no other way! And if it ends that way, then at least do it so it will not be the last thing I see with my own eyes before meeting the Stranger!” Selyse hissed between the pains, but also fatigue from the yet so fruitless attempts of bringing out her second child into the world. After all, she had heard stories about women generally losing their lives because of the massive blood loss if the belly was cut up to save the baby. 

“Mama! Maaaaaaammmma!” 

Shireen's confused cries could be heard from behind the closed door, not understanding what was happening to her mother, the hamming of little fists on the wood in an attempt to be let in. For all of that Selyse was not the most maternal woman, even towards her own child, she knew that she could not allow this to become the final memory Shireen would have of herself. 

“Do not let her in!” 

Indeed, Selyse did not want her daughter to remember her like this, if she was fated to join all other mothers who died after trying to give their husbands a male heir in a son. Better to have Shireen recall her during the last weeks of pregnancy, without the possible outcome. 

“My lady, please, stay awake!” 

Maester Cressen tried to use some smelling salts on her, but she could feel her strength fade...

  
  


Despite being only 13 and 12 years old, Mya and Brienne had a far better understanding of the situation than the crying Shireen when they carried her away from the closed door to the birthing chamber. After all, they were not far from the age where they could be married, and facing the same dangers as lady Selyse did right now. 

“Lord Stannis is still not here….will he arrive and learn that he has lost his wife in childbirth? And the baby…” 

Would the Lord Baratheon find a second daughter in the daughter? A son? Or a stillbirth of either gender that would prove it even worse that Selyse lost her life for nothing?

“Mama….” 

Then something happened. The wind from the sea, calm yet not harsh, picked up in strength as she began to whisper something for herself. Then Brienne was reminded of what she had seen last year, with the three oldest royal children against those strange monsters in the cellar with the dragon skulls: 

“ _ Led her to life, oh Holy Mothers. Goddesses of Motherhood, you who gives life to us mortals. Hathor and Heqet, Givers of life to women, give her strength of survival, this mother of mine in this life! Taweret, help her in this path of pain that all women know… _ ”

Shireen was singing, but it did not sound like a normal religious song taught by the septas and that was sung to the Mother to ensure a safe delivery for a pregnant woman. In fact it was more like an unknown language she barely understood yet Mya looked like she realized the words. 

“ _ Holy Mothers of Humankind, bless my mother in this life. Bless her by strength, give her the joys of living children, undo the curse upon her body and give life… _ ” 

Then, suddenly the young Baratheon heiress fainted in Brienne's arms like a candle being blown out. 

“Shireen? Shireen, wake up! Do not fall sick as well!” Brienne called out in alarm, and then the cries of a newborn baby was heard in the distance. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

When Stannis arrived the next morning, he noticed that the servants seemed more nervous than usual around him. What had happened while he was gone and made the new Hand of the King? 

“Uncle! Uncle Stannis!” 

Mya came running towards him, but Stannis reacted more strongly that she  **_never_ ** addressed him in that manner unless she wanted to ask for a small favor of some kind. 

“Uncle...please do not treat Lady Selyse ill when you see your new child…” 

Why had Mya brought the painting of his late grandmother Rhaelle to hand over to him? Was she trying to give him some unspoken warning about the baby, that the Targaryen blood from Rhaelle had shown itself in the baby's colouring and thus the fools at the royal court led by Cersei would gossip about Selyse having an affair with Monford Velaryon because House Velaryon also had blood ties to Old Valyria like the Targaryens? Stannis knew that Rhaelle herself had no children after his father Steffon, but his parents had a stillbirth between himself and Renly when they had wanted to try for a daughter after getting their needed heir and spare. He barely remembered the baby girl looking like his grandmother by having the Targaryen hair, because Steffon and Cassana had wanted their sons to at least see the sister that had never drawn breath, before the little body had been taken away to the sept to prepare for the funeral. 

  
  


Selyse was not looking up when her husband entered the chamber. Instead, she kept her eyes firmly away, as if scared for what he could say. 

“Papa!” Shireen greeted in happiness from where she was at the cradle in a corner, “I am a big sister!”

Bending over his daughter, Stannis did indeed see a baby with the Targaryen colours, but with the classical Baratheon face of a strong jaw, same too-large ears like Shireen like an unspoken truth of who the parents were. 

“A second daughter,” Selyse finally managed to say loud enough for him to hear. Then the baby opened the eyes, revealing blue eyes, and spotting Stannis above Shireen, the little face set in an exactly identical scowl as his own, as if  _ daring  _ him to think that she was the result of infidelity. Only one person had made the same face, in the now distant past. 

“ **_Rhea._ ** ” 

That was all Stannis could say for now, because he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that his late grandmother had indeed returned as her own great-granddaughter sired by him because he had been closest to her as a child and young adult since Rhaelle was not so easy charmed by her oldest grandson Robert like so many others, and would quickly show her displeasure if he allowed people to act as if that she was not a true Baratheon. 

“Heavens forbid that Cersei tries to spread idiotic gossip about Rhea then, when she herself have two Lannister-looking children among the royal children!” Selyse admitted from the bed, feeling less worried now when Stannis had realized that this was indeed a second daughter born between them and did not mention a word about any suspicions about infidelity from her. Naturally Shireen tried to lift up Rhea to hold her, so Stannis hurried to show his older daughter how to hold her baby sister in a comfortable hold and support the head without risking to drop her at a sudden movement. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selyse Baratheon nee Florent is very possibly affected with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. For those of you who don’t know this is an endocrine condition, aka, it messes up with women’s hormones. One of its symptoms is the presence of male pattern body and facial hair due to excess of masculine hormones. It is a common cause for infertility and if a pregnancy occurs and it is untreated it can lead to miscarriages. 
> 
> According to the Florent family tree, Selyse is the only daughter of Ryam Florent, himself a third son and therefore she would be rather unlikely to attract suitors in the same manner as her female cousins Melessa tarly nee Florent and Rhea Hightower nee Florent, who are the daughters of the current Head of House Florent, Alester Florent. Her third known female cousin is Delena Florent, the mother of Eric Storm 
> 
> Heqet is an Egyptian goddess of fertility, identified with Hathor, represented in the form of a frog. To the Egyptians, the frog was an ancient symbol of fertility, related to the annual flooding of the Nile. In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility.
> 
> Yes, Rhaelle Baratheon nee Targayren have indeed returned to the living world in a new body, and the scowl she shared with Stannis in her past life, now is the proof of showing who her new father is


	11. A different Lord than his father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Edmure Tully and Stevron Frey is different than the men who was their fathers

Later half of year 292 A,C, the riverlands: 

By now, it was a common sight in the riverlands to see groups of travelers arriving from the Westerlands. Peasant families, escaping their ancestral homes because of the horrible drought that haunted the lands ruled by Tywin Lannister and seeking a new life somewhere in the rest of Westeros. 

“Look, it is Lord Tully and his little heir.” 

Up on a hill, was Edmure Tully seated on a trusted old gelding, his toddler son Axel sitting in front of his father in the saddle. Together, they watched how knights in the service of House Tully gave directions to the refugees that they would spare a lot of time traveling to the North by taking the road to Seagard, and from there taking ships to Blazewater Bay. After all, now with the Ironborn gone since three years back, perhaps the western side of the North could get a bigger population since there could be a possibility that not all the smallfolk escaping the Westerlands may return when the drought has finally left. 

“I am amazed that House Mallister actually agreed to take the refugees by ships, if only because Lynesse mentioned that House Frey would not be able to demand some coins for crossing that bridge of theirs! Clever woman, your mother.” 

“Bah!” Axel responded, sounding as if he did agree with his father despite being too young to understand what Edmure talked about. 

“Yes, good thing that old Walder Frey finally passed away from high age before he could add more legal and bastard children to the number of descendants he left behind. Lord Stevron has been pretty busy cleaning out the Twins and limiting the number of Freys living there. Getting a stroke in front of his whole family during the wake after the burial of his seventh wife...what a way to join his seven wives in the afterlife, indeed!” 

Everyone of the noble houses in the riverlands had secretly celebrated the death of the old Lord Frey, since no one exactly liked him and it was an open secret that House Frey was...a very mixed bag when it came to weddings. Various minor noble Houses, wealthy merchants and the like. Even if it had been just by a mere month, Walder Frey had even managed to outlive his seventh wife, Annara Farring, who had died not many weeks after the birth of her sixth child, a daughter called Shirei Frey who was the seventh legal daughter of her old father, undoubtedly worn out after spending her marriage almost literally in a stage of pregnancy or recovering from childbirth like her six predecessors in the marriage bed. 

“What do you say, Axel, shall we return home to your mother and sister?” 

Turning the gelding around while some guards joined them, Edmure and his son were soon riding back towards Riverrun. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Riverrun castle: 

As Stevron Frey had refused to house any more than his own direct descendants at the Twins nowadays, most of House Frey had more or less been spread for the wind. Those who had been married with spouses and children, were lucky to “merely” be sent off from the Twins to find employment with other noble Houses or in whatever way that could have use of trained knights. Those still unwed, their fate depended on their gender: 

The men were sent to the Westerlands, as an offer to help Tywin Lannister with his current struggles, because Stevron did not trust them. The boys old enough to be fostered out, had been sent to various landed knights and minor noble houses, while those younger still remained with their parents. Among the women and girls, some of them had the blessing to be accepted by Lynesse as her ladies-in-waiting or as wards to be brought up in Riverrun. 

“Amerei! Walda! You are supposed to be in the sewing chamber!” 

The two older daughters of Merrett Frey and Mariya Darry looked ashamed when Lady Tully caught them outside what they should be at this time of the day. After all, Lynesse had made it clear that she would not accept her ladies or female wards shame House Tully. 

“That is the trouble with us Freys being so many in numbers, my lady,” Tyta Frey said in a tired as she arrived with her 22 years younger half-sister Shirei in her arms and 12 years younger Roslin nervously holding the skirt behind Tyta, “too many relatives resulting from my late father's marriages, and those of my siblings as well.” 

Mentally cursing the late Walder Frey and his damn fertility that had passed down to so many of his descendants, Lynesse tried to get the situation back under control. 

“I promised Stevron to take in some of you girls and try arranging good marriages for you unless you choose the Faith, so stop acting as if I will kick you out for breaking a rule.” 

Tyta did not even protest at being called a girl even if Lynesse meant her younger sisters and two nieces, that was something she had heard from her many uncles and male cousins as a cruel joke ever since her first failings to catch a husband. Being a maid already in her early twenties was a pain at times.

“Oh, hear. Minisa is welcoming her father and brother back home.” 

Indeed there was a crying coming from the nursery, as if the newest Tully member had sensed the arrival of Edmure and Axel. 

  
  


It did not take long for little Axel to come running towards Lynesse when she joined them on the courtyard, while a nursemaid brought his sister. 

“Mama!” 

Seeing the Lord Tully greeting his wife so fondly, even kissing her on the cheek and letting his baby daughter grab his finger in one tiny fist, the Frey girls knew just how lucky Lynesse was by being wed to Edmure. 

“Why can not more noble heirs be like Lord Edmure? Ah, the pain of society allowing men to think of themselves as more important than women, all because of something hanging between their legs and men wanting male children!”

Tyta, as the oldest of the Freys here at Riverrun, had witnessed far too often in her life that men like Edmure were rare here in Westeros. Sure, being good-natured could be a flaw at times, but sometimes that was actually preferable over a cruel Lord who thought of people as pieces in a game to be used as he pleased. Hoster wedding his younger daughter Lysa to the aged, childless, and already twice-widowed Jon Arryn had been much talked about in the sewing chamber at the Twins, and Tyta had overheard her female relatives agree that poor Lysa would face a hell of pressure to give Lord Arryn a son before she was eventually widowed, as proven true earlier this year. 

“My ladies, how are you feeling after living in our household for two months now?” Edmure asked, getting their attention. 

“Good, my lord!”

“Thank you again for taking us in!”

“We will work hard to be useful for you and Lady Lynesse!” 

And with that, most of the Frey girls vanished back to the sewing chamber, Tyta walking more slowly because she had an infant half-sister in her arms who now wanted her wetnurse. 

  
  


Back up in his solar after leaving the children to the care of their nurses, Edmure and Lynesse looked over the newest pile of letters from various relatives. Among the letters, was one sent from the Wall. 

“Oh? The male Freys who were sent to the Wall because Stevron did not trust them, have already died. Seems like they were used as bait for the wildings on a ranging by the Rangers, and none of them survived the attack.” 

Catelyn mostly wrote about how things was for the Stark family at Winterfell, though she had hope to become pregnant again at some point in the coming years, since a third son would really secure the succession to Wintefell while her daughters Sansa and Arya was most likely going to face a future as wives and mothers like herself. 

“Lysa says in her letter that Celia has found a skill for weaving, while Amanda enjoys baking bread as a way to let out some frustration.” 

Those were skills that may not be usual to teach the daughters, or in this case older sisters, to a Lord Paramount, but it was better than the girls misbehaving in a way that could affect their social reputation when old enough for marriage. Anyway, the way Lysa wrote her letter spoke of that all three of her children were happy at the court in Sunspear, so clearly the idea to foster them there had been a wise idea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may sound cruel to Stevron Frey to basically boot out most of his relatives, but remember; he has 21 legal brothers and seven legal sisters as the result of Walder Frey being married seven times and six of those wives have given him a lot of children, alongside an unknown number of bastard half-siblings born outside the marriage bed. Many of those siblings are adults since long ago, often married with their own families. With all of those relatives living at the Twins, I imagine that it have been pretty cramped as a living space and Stevron may think that the younger Freys could be better off finding their own path in life as knights, servants or whatever job they may find, than hoping for the very small chance of inheriting the Twins 
> 
> The Frey daughters and granddaughters currently living at Riverrun are sisters Tyta (born 270), Roslin (b. 282), Arwyn (b. 285) Shirei (b.292) alongside their nieces Amerei (b.282) and "Fat" Walda (b. 283/34). Lynesse made a limit of how many female Freys she would take in, and refuses to add more of them


	12. Removing threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Lysa and her children are visiting Sunspear, Lord Vorian Dayne comes with a alarming report to Doran

Dorne, year 293 A.C, the Old palace in Sunspear: 

Despite loving her new life in Rohan, Lysa was also aware of that her children and herself needed to be seen in Sunspear at times, in case some noble or knight from the Vale suddenly showed up to see how things was for the Arryn widow and heirs in the Martell court. 

“So annoying, but I can not risk any unwanted questions that could lead to some form of trouble for the Martells either…” 

She did not doubt that the proud nobles in the Vale, with their ancient bloodlines and all that, thought of her as a fool for fostering her children with the Martells, perhaps fearing that with time, the adult “Ronnel Arryn” would insist on following equal primogeniture for his own children instead of having his sons as the preferred male heirs. But the choice to make it appear like the three Arryn children were fostered here in Sunspear, was partly to protect Eorl. Lysa knew enough tales to know that her innocent son would not be treated kindly if someone realized that he was not the true son of the late Jon Arryn. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Unaware of their mother's worries, Celia and Amanda enjoyed a game of hide and seek with the Sand Snakes and a few similar-aged daughters from Dornish nobles in the shaded palace gardens. 

“Sarella!” 

The fourth daughter of Oberyn Martell smiled as the younger Arryn daughter managed to find her. 

“Good work on finding us all.” 

Celia had been rather hesitant to hide well where her blonde hair would not be so visible, mainly because she refused to let go of her beloved doll Ela, but most of the Sand Snakes could understand the care for a dearly beloved toy. 

“Celia, are you afraid that Ela will be dirtied if you drop her to the ground?” Sylva Santagar, a childhood friend and lady-in-waiting for Arianne, asked when she noticed how the oldest daughter of Lysa held her doll tightly. 

“Do not want to ruin her dress.” 

Well, that was not so strange. The beloved ragdoll had gotten a couple of new dresses as part of the birthday gifts for Celia only a few months ago, and given how careful Celia was with the doll, it spoke of how she treasured the gifts. 

“You know, Celia, shall we look into the chests with leftover pieces of silk fabric and see if we can make a nice doll and belonging dresses for Amanda too? She will have her fourth birthday soon, right?” 

Celia brightened up at the thought of surprising her sister with such a gift. 

“Yes, please!”

Obara was not that much into sewing, her hands being large and her thick fingers not being well-suited for embroidery, but she still offered to carry the two Arryn heiresses to the sewing chamber. 

  
  


But on the way to the sewing chamber, they noticed that something was not really normal. 

“Is that Lord Vorian Dayne?” 

Indeed it was him leading a small group of men towards the throne room, his wife and young son departing from the main group.

“Oh!” Tyene suddenly gasped in realization, recalling something she had been hearing some weeks earlier, “I think Lord Dayne may be here to present his son Theodore for possible Lords and knights that could be needing a squire in a few years!” 

Officially, the young Dayne heir was named after a respected ancestor who had been a Lord of Starfall before the Conquest, but the four oldest Sand Snakes knew that his common nickname Theo in reality was intended after their aunt Elia's second husband, King Théodred of Rohan. After all, Theodore Dayne had been born four years after the Sack of King's Landing and at that time, they knew that Elia was slowly but steadily falling in love with her savior. By indirectly being the reason behind the name for the future Lord Dayne of Starfall, Théodred was shown a very high respect by House Dayne. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Inside the throne room, Doran and Arianne were seated side by side when the prisoner was brought in front of them with bound hands behind his back and a gag over his mouth. The future ruling Princess was doing the last of her training to officially take over Dorne next year at the age of 18 from her father, on the grounds of the injury that Doran had suffered in King's Landing a few years ago. 

“Well, what is the crime you have found your distant relative to be committing, Lord Dayne?” Hammer Uller, the Lord of Hellbolt and father to Ellaria Sand as well maternal grandfather to the four youngest Sand Snakes, asked in a curious voice. It had to be serious if the Lord of Starfall requested his presence. 

“Wylla and her midwifery apprentices witnessed him sneaking around in the area near the ruins of the  _ Tower of Joy,  _ My Prince and Princess. And there are witnesses on hearing him talk about trying to join the Kingsguard yet also loudly, when being drunk, talking about that there must be  **_a reason_ ** why three Kingsguard members were there instead of guarding Rhaegar Targaryen.”

Doran and Arianne did not need to ask more questions. The isolated Tower of Joy, an originally ironic nickname on a prison tower where House Dayne locked up dangerous enemies and let them go mad from isolation, away from basic human contact. The place where Lyanna Stark had died after giving birth to the bastard daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen, a stillborn child with dragon-like birth defects, as per Wylla's testimony.

“ **_I see._ ** ” 

If Gerold Dayne came dangerously close to digging up the grave of the stillborn Targaryen-Stark infant, then he would undoubtedly try to spread words about this in the capital in the hope of blackmailing Eddard Stark about the secret that he had hoped to hide from the rest of the world. Perhaps even telling King Rober Baratheon himself in exchange for some form of favor. And that in itself, was dangerous. 

“Lord Harmen. Please ensure that young Gerold does not leave Hellbolt once you have delivered him there,” Doran ordered before Arianne could say something. She was still in an age where the handsomeness of a young, well trained man could cloud judgement and common sense, so he did not want the young Dayne of High Hermitage around his daughter for long. 

“Thank you for telling us this, Lord Dayne,” Arianne managed to say, though she seemed uncomfortable about what most likely awaited Gerold Dayne, a youth in her own age, at Hellbolt. 

“No worry, Princess. I am not cruel enough to drag things out on time. This is a case where quickness is the best,” Lord Uller promised in a kind manner when he noticed her face to be a little paler than normal. 

  
  


When everyone else left the throne room on the request of Doran, Vorian turned towards his Prince with a serious look on his face. 

“We can not risk that words about Lyanna Stark's  _ true manner of death and the cause of it,  _ leaves Dorne without the words of House Martell. My idiotic brother chose the Targaryen prince over Elia and her children, shaming House Dayne by that choice. I am really hoping that Ashara is giving Arthur a hell in the afterlife for his actions.” 

Doran knew that Vorian was deeply hurt by the way he had lost both his brother and oldest sister, and how he feared that House Dayne could risk being blamed for causing the death of Lyanna Stark if gossip was allowed to spread. After all, the Tower of Joy had originally been a place to imprison enemies.

“Yes, Gerold being in the Kingsguard would be a risk we can not take. He would be near the ear of Robert Baratheon to whisper of the secret that lays buried at the ruin of the tower, and I have heard that he is not above using blackmail to get favors from others.” 

It was regrettable that a young, promising knight had to end his life as a prisoner at Hellbolt, but they could not make any changes about him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the idea of Obara having large hands and thick fingers from my RL mom, who inherited the hands of my nowadays sadly deceased grandfather


End file.
